28-11-16

On this day in 1680 the world los a great architect and sculptor: Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is one of his most controversial works that can be found in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

21-11-16

I recently watched 2 good films about child abuse by priests: Spotlight & Deliver us from Evil. The first tells the story of the jounalists in Boston who brought to light the massive child abuse by priests in that city. The second is a documentary film that tells the story of an Irish priest who abused many children in California in the 70's and 80's. I warn you, the second is not an easy film to watch. I got quite emotional seeing parents break down because of what had happened to their children. The priest would always confess his wrong doings and the church would move him to another city. In both cases the church's strategy was clearly to close ranks and cover up. The Pope never answered to any of the charges, but then as the head of the Vatical State he enjoys immunity from prosecution.The photo shows the altar of the church Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.

01-04-16

Towards the end of March I finished Joseph Heller’s classic novel Catch-22. It is a must read, but you have to try and understand absurdity to be able to finish it. It is a very absurd Second World War story that is symbolic for the absurdity of war. Heller took 10 years writing it and ended up releasing it in 1961. It became symbolic for the absurdity of the Vietnam War and the popular sitcom MASH adopted a lot of the ideas. A catch 22 is an absurd loose loose situation. The main character tries to get out of the war by pretending to be out of his mind. But seeing that wanting to get out of the war is a sane thing to do, he does not succeed. The picture is of a building in Rome, because the American pilots in the novel are stationed in Italy and spend a lot of time in Rome.

31-03-16

While we were visiting the basilica of Saint Mary, a mass actually started, they don’t ask the visiting tourists to leave. So I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of this small congregation of believers.

30-03-16

At the beginning of the 18th century, Pope Clement XI commissioned the astronomer, mathematician, archeologist, historian and philosopher Francesco Bianchini to build a meridian line, a sundial within the basilica. This allowed the pope to check the accuracy of the Gregorian reformation of the calendar, to produce a tool to predict Easter exactly and to give Rome a meridian line as important as the one built in Bologna’s cathedral San Petronio.

27-03-16

Close to Easter seems like a good time to write about this great basilica we visited when in Rome about a year ago. Michelangelo Buonarroti built this basilica with the simple façade by order of pope Pius IV, who has his final resting place inside.

16-10-15

I’ve just finished watching the American series ‘The Killing’. It tells the story of the brutal murder of a 17 year old girl. A female detective, that was about to end her career to get married, postpones her personal plans to solve the case. I’m used to watching the British detective series where 3 murders are committed and solved in one episode. The Killing differs from this as it takes the detectives 13 episodes to solve just the one murder. And they tease you in the end by doubting the outcome.

08-07-15

Did you know that Rome has more than 2.000 fountains? The Fountain of the Four Rivers is one you must see. A true masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It is in the middle of the Piazza Navona. Is has been since 1651. Difficult to take good picture, because the crows all round the fountain is huge.

06-07-15

Hans Christian Andersen lived in Rome for a while, in this house. The Improvisatore was published in 1835 and it is recognized as his authobiographic breakthrough. It tells the story of a tourist in Italy.